Sometimes nature makes me sad.
Today when we went to my parents to pick some peppers and water the fall plants, dad showed me a bee hive of his that was doing poorly. He's not sure what, but some sickness has got to the hive and the bees are going crazy. He was carefully watching the grass and then carefully picked up a small bee that was crawling on the grass. The young bees can't fly and are crawling away from the hive, four or five at a time. I asked if maybe they wanted to go to another hive, but dad quickly dismissed that thought. "They're just sick." I frequently forget that bees and other animals don't have the same type of thought process as humans. There is no option for them. I thought of those children who leave religious cults or Amish communities, like the hive is shunning them and sending them off crippled into the world.
As we pulled into the drive way a dove caught my eye. She was laying on the ground, much like a hen would lay on her eggs or young and I pointed out how odd she looked to Matt. Turns out dad had cut a low hanging branch down on Thursday and the two young were knocked out of their nest. They were still alive, and the mother still guards them, but their chances are so slim that I had a great desire to scoop them up and take them home. I know that that would only increase their chances of dying. Helpless little doves would make any one's heart go soft and mushy.
I found this picture off the internet, but they looked very similar. I wish I had my camera.
I am somewhat reminded of the book The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote a biography of a pioneer type man, committed to living off the land. In the book someone made a comment about how they would hate to kill a helpless deer. Eustace Conway said he didn't feel sorry for the deer because they weren't nearly as helpless as some people are. And I am reminded that nature is capable of so many things and I am the one that is disconnected and incapable.
I just figured out she also wrote Eat, Pray, Love. Since I enjoyed The Last American Man, I might enjoy this movie phenomena.
